Hot-air drier.



C. E. GEIGER. Ho Am DRIER.

APPYLAICATION FILED AUG. l0, 1912.

Patented Jun 6, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

c'. E. GEIGER. HOT AIR DRIE'R.

APPLICATION FILED lAUG. IQ., I9I2,

Patented J une 6, 1916.

. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

CHARLES E. GEIGER,OF LOITISVILLE, HNTUCKY, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-THIRD T0 WILLIAM E. KOOP AND ONE-THIRD T G. WALTER FISKE, BOTH OF LOUISVILLE,

KENTUCKY.

HOT-AIR DRIER.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented J une 6, 1916.

Application led August 10, 1912. Serial No. 714,364.

To all wkomz't may concern.'

Be it known that I, CHARLES E. GEIGER, a citizen of the 'United States, residing at Louisville, in the County of Jefferson and State of Kentucky, have 4invented certain .new and useful Improvements in Hot-Air KDriers, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to driers, and more particularly to the class designated as rotaryl driers, and the principal object of this invention is to provide an apparatus of the class describedin which the heating is obtained directly. from a furnace, a part of the drier being rotatable in the irebox, and the heat arising therefrom being deflected and Adirected through suitable through the drier so that the greatest drymg effect may be obtained and an effective and eflicient apparatus result.

A further object of the invention is to provide) means for inducing a circulation of the heated gases through the drier.

For the attainment of these ends and the accomplishment of other new and useful objects, as will appear, thev invention consists in .the features of noveltyin the construction, combination and arrangement of the several p arts generally shown in the accompanying drawings and described in Athe specification, but more particularly pointed out inthe appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a drier constructed in accordance with the principles of my invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of a modiedform of drier, embodying the principles of my invention; Fig. 4 is a detail view showing the construction of one of the rotaing the metho of spacing the tubes from the wall of the cylinder; and Fig. 6'is a detail view of the connecting plate between the cylinders.

In rotary driersit is customary to employ steam as the heating element and to utilize the steam for this purpose it is necessary to provide an expensive structure which .pre-

ltubes l of the invention the numeral-8 is employed table cylinders Fig. 5 is a detail viewshowv generally to designate a frebox, .of any desired or suitableconstruction, in which the grates 9 are disposed. These grates may be of any suitable well known construction,

and a feed box 10 is commonly employed in connection therewith, so that fuel may be fed upon the grates from withoutjthe firebox. At the top of the fire box is disposed a stack or chimney 11, provided with `a damper 12, which may be moved and set in any desired position.

Extending into the ire box on one side thereof is a rotatable cylindrical shell 13, which is suitably mounted for rotation upon the supports 14, -preferably, adjacent the ends thereof. At the end which is inserted in the side of the irebox 8 ,there is disposed a circular plate 15 extending around the inside edge thereof, which is provided with a number of perforations into which the ends of tubular members 16 are inserted. Extending through the fire box 8 and having contact at one end with the insidefedge of the plate 15 is a cylindrical member 17,

the other end being rotatably mounted upon a suitablegsupport 18. These cylinders 17 and .13 -are preferably connected together and are supported so that they may be freely rotated. Any suitable driving mechanism may be employed, such for example, as that illustrated by the drawing, from which it will be seen that the cylindrical member 13 isprovided with an outer ear 19 mounted upon a shaft 20. This sha t is connected by means of bevel gears 21 and1 'a driving shaft 2 2 to ardriving pulley 23 mounted thereon.

At the free end of the cylinder 17 1s-d1s posed a yoke 24whicl'1 extends within a feeding hopper 25. This feeding hopper is suit-` ably mounted upon standards 26 and is provided with a conveyer 27, preferably of the type known. as a splral conveyer, which may4 be operated in any well known manner, as for example, byr means of chains and gearing connecting it withthe rotating cylinders.v `This hopper 25 may. be fed in anyV desired or-suitable manner, as, for example, through' a door 28 in the top thereof. At

the free end of the cylinder 13, it is prof vided with ahousing 29, in the. bottom of which a spiral conveyer 30 is disposedwhich is operated by a gear connection with the cylinder. The housing 29 is fixed with respect to the cylinder, and the cylinder rotates freely within the housing. The j'ointsv made between the housing and the cylinders, as well as the joints made-between the cylinders and the firebox, are as nearly air tight as -it is feasible to make them, but, of

course, need' not be absolutely air tight, the

object being merely to prevent the leakage of the heated gases as much as possible.

It will be seen that the tubes 16 are disposed within the'\` cylinder 13 at the outer l edge thereof, and that' they communicate the walls of the cylinder 13 in ,any desired orv suitable manner, such, for example, as that shown in detail by Fig. 5, from w 'ch it will be seen that a member 31,? prefe ably in the form 'of an angle iron, is secured to the inclined face of the cylinder, with one arm thereof extending in a position to abut lone of the tubes 16 and to hold it in a spaced position'with respect to the wall of the cylinder. This permits the material to be dried to fall between two adjacent tubes as the cylinder rotates so that nearly the entire surface of the tubes may be utilized for heating purposes.

' 1n order to produce suiiicient draft through ,the drier and to insure vthat the draft will be properly directed afan or blower 32 is employed. This blower is provided with a tubular connection 33, which is connected t6 the hopper 25, preferablyl in the topthereof, and which hasta discharge stack orl tube 34.l Disposed in thed cylindrical portion 17 ar a plurality of iights 35, whichare preferablyinclined slightly. to the longitudinal axis o'f the cylinder lsoI thatas the cylinder rotates the material contained therein will be directed continuously in agforward direction. These flights 35 are shown more clearly in Fig. 4, and may be formed with the extending portion perpendicular to the inclined face ,of the cylinder 17 or at a slight inclination thereto; preferably the different forms of flights are arranged alternately with respect to eachother, as shown in Fig. 4.

In operation the cylinders 13 and. 17 are rotated and the material to be dried is fed into the cylinder 17 through the hopper 25, from which it advances into the cylinder 13 .by .the continued rotation of the cylinders.

measles The fire is placed on the grates in the re box, yand the damper 12 may be turned to of. The fan or blower draws the air and gases from within the cylinders and from the housing 29 -through thecylinders so thatA a draft is created from the fire box through 16 and into the housing 29 at the end ,therethe tubes 16, housing 29, through the cylin-y i ders 1'3 and 17 .through the hopper 25, pipe 33 and through the blower 32 out through the stack 34.-v The cylinder 17 being disposed within the lire box receives the heat directly so that the material containing the greatest amount of-moisture is subjected to the greatest heating effect, and since the gases and airv are drawn off at th end, the moisture and gases arising from t e material to be dried will not pass over the material which does not contain so much moisture. In other words, the material containing most, moisture is nearest the vapor discharge end.

If desired, the f an or blower instead of being disposed at the end adjacent the feeding hopper may be positioned at the other end,'as shown more clearly in Fig. 3. With l' this construction it is necessary "to alter the form of thev housing at the discharge end. This housing 36 is formed with an extending portion 37 at the end thereof, and a tubular portion 38 extends through the projection into the end of the cylinder 13. ln-

side of the housing is a manifold 36 spaced The vblower is suitably supported upon a frame or the standards 41.

' ln'A `the exempliication of the invention shown by Fig. 3 the rebox 8 is longer than that shown by Figs. 1 and 2, and the cylinder 42, corresponding to the cylinder 17 is also longer having a portion thereof formed with the Iflights 35 and another portion 'which is disposed directly' over the grates v9 free from saidv fiights or projections. 1n this portion, however, there are disposed a number of metallic bodies 43, which maybe of any desired shape or material, but which are preferably in the form of metallic balls, the purpose of which is to 'break up chunks of the material to be dried and to prevent the material from forming in lumps and compact masses, the cylinder as it rotates causing the bodies 43'to be tumbled about in f the cylinder so that the material to be dried l is broken up thereby.` To lprevent'the said bodies from being displaced in the cylinder the inside ribs 44 are provided, which hold the bodies in their longitudinal position.

The operation of a drier of this form is similar to that already described andno further description is deemed necessary. It is-.obvious that theblowerfmy be disposed^at either end ofthe drier, as shown in the drawings, its operation beingthe same in either position.l Whenl the blower is po- Y s itioned at the dischargingend of the drier it is necessary to provide a dischargev stack 45 at the other end-of the drier, preferably extending from the top of thel feeding hopper25.

While I have thus described the preferred embodiment of 'my invention, it is bbvious that others skilled in the` art to which said invention appertains may make 'various' changes in the construction,combination and arrangement f 'the several parts, Without departingv from: the spirit'and scope of lmy invention. s

What I claim is:

1. A hot air drierv comprising a furnace, a singlerotatable cylinder with pipesxtherein for' receiving hot 5air from the furnace having a portion extending directly through the furnace, and means to draw hot air from.

the pipes through the cylinder.v

2.111 a hotair drier afurnace,l a -single rotatable cylinder having a portion extending through the'furnace with pipes therein connecting .with the `furnace and extending to one end of the cylinder, and draft-inducing means to cause the hot 'air from the pipes 'at'the end of the cylinderto be passed 4 through the cylinder. A40

A rotatable in the furnace with pipes extend- '3. In a hot air drier, a furnace, a cylinder ing froml an intermediate point to one end of the cylinder within'the cylinder but having communication with the furnace, and means to cause the hot air yfrom the pipes at the end of the cylinder to be'passed through the cylinder.

4. In a hot air drier, a furnace, va rotatable cylinder of which a part is within the furnace to receive the direct heat therefrom, and pipes within the other portion of the cylinder communicating with the furnace and extending to the Aend of the cylinder outv 'side of the furnace, and means tocause the hot air from the furnace to pass therefrom through-'the pipes to the end of the cylinder.

' andl thence to return through the cylinder.

5./-In a hot air drier, a furnace, a rotatable cylinder having an enlarged vportion with pipes therein communicating with the furnace, andy means to cause hot air to pass through the pipes to the end of the cylinder and thence through the cyla'nder from end to end. Y 6. In a hot air drier, the combination with a furnace, of a rotatable cylinder havingan enlarged portion at one end with tubes therein communicating with the furnace and exwith a portion directly rotatable therein l having draft pipes communicating with the furnace at an` intermediate point along the cylinder and extending to one end thereof, means for causing the draft from the furnace to pass`first through the pipes to the end of the cylinder and thence through the g cylinder from end to end, and means for feeding material to be dried at one `end of ,y

the cylinder. 4 8. In a drierof the class described, the combination with a'furnace, ofa cylinder having a portion of reduced size rotatable in the furnace, the other portion of the cylinder having pipes extending from the furnace to the end of the cylinder, means for feeding material to be dried to the cylinder at the smaller end and for removingit at causing the hot air from the furnace to be drawn through the pipes to the end of the cylinder and thence returned through/the' cylinder in the opposite direction. Y

9. In a drier of the class described, the combination with two cylindricalrportions, one larger than the other'placed end to end,

(the other end, and' draft-inducing means for a perforated plate disposed betweenthe adjacent ends of the said members, and tubes disposed in the larger cylinder with their ends secured in the perforations' insaid plate. 'A

1 0. In a'drier of the'class described, the combination with two cylindrical portions, one larger than the other placed end to end,

lief

aperforated plate disposed between the'adjacent ends of the saidv members, tubes disposed in the larger cylinder with their ends. i l

secured in the perforations in zsaid plate,

and means secured to the inside of the larger 3 cylinderj for holdingthe.k tubes at a spaced v distance therefrom.

11,111 a drier'of the class described, the A combination with a furnace having a fire chamber, of a rottable cylinder disposed thereinsvvith one en protruding through the l inside of -thefire chamber, the opposite end of the lire chamber being provided with an 1.25

openingfa second cylindrical member larger v than the .first named" member'disposed in,

said opening with the end thereof surrounding the end of the first named cylindrical member, a perforated plate forming connec-v tion between the two cylindrical members,

tubes disposed in` the larger cylindrical` member and extending through the perfora? l combination with two cylindrical members,

one larger than the other, and placed end to end, of a perforated plate disposed between the .adjacent ends of said members, tubes mounted in a larger member with their ends secured in said perforations, a closed housing in the free end of the larger member, a furnace having a fire chamber in which the smaller cylindrical member isdisposed with".

- the tubes of the larger member communieating with the interior of the re chamber,

the free end of the smaller member extend-v ing -beyond the furnace,"means to feed material to be dried at the free end of the smaller.

cylinder, a drat producing device operative to produce a r through the tubes'in the larger cylinder in lone direction and through both of the cylindrical members in the opposite direction.

linea device of the class described, the

aft from 'the re chamber.

meteen p combination with two cylindrical members, one larger than the other, and-placed end-to end, of a perforated plate for' connecting the adjacenty ends, tubes disposed in the larger cylinder and secured in the perforations in said plate, means to rotate the cylinders, a device for feeding material to be dried to the smaller cylinder, a housingfat the free end of the larger cylindex, a .conveyer disposed in said 'housing for discharging the dried material, a furnace having a re chamb er surrounding the smaller cylinder and.

forming communication with the ytubes in said larger cylinder, and means to produce a continuous draft from the ire chamber through -the tubes in one direction and through bothicylindrieal members in the opposite direction.

In testimony whereof l have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, on this eighth day of August, A. D. 1912;

, CHARLES n.v. enfans. Witnesses: L

CHARMES H. SEEM, M. Hamm 

